Woolworths and Coles will ban single-use plastic bags across their Australian networks

Woolworths expects its stores to be plastic bag free within 12 months

Environment Minister Stephen Dawson commended Woolworths Group and Coles Group today after the retailers announced an impending ban on single-use plastic shopping bags.

“As the Western Australian Minister for Environment, I commend the major retailers for their decision to phase out single-use shopping bags over the next 12 months.” Minister for Environment Stephen Dawson said.

“I met with Coles and Woolworths last week to indicate that the McGowan Government was working on implementing a State-wide ban of single-use plastic bags so I’m delighted these companies are now acting.”

Ban on single-use, lightweight plastic bags will extend across both groups’ Australian networks, with Woolworths set to fully implement the initiative within 12 months.

Mr. Dawson said the initiative would play a major role in reducing plastic bag usage in favour of reusable, environmentally friendly options, and showed a commitment to environmental and community responsibility.

National Litter Index shows that in the past 2 years, the number of plastic bags in the Western Australian litter stream increased by 8.2 % with highways being the most littered areas for plastic bags.

Plastic Bag Recycling

Since 1990 in the same Swing Top Tidy Garbage Bin Editor Victor P Taffa has lined it for household and food refuse in the same Plastic Bags that supermarkets have announced a ban to use.

However in the same supermarkets people can buy Plastic Bags to line Swing Top Tidy Garbage Bins for all household and food refuse.

In these same supermarkets customers can place purchases of Fruit and Vegetables in Plastic Bags.

Plastic Bags Rating Sign

Unless supermarkets placed large signs indicating ratings of Plastic Bags and their breakdown value at supermarket entrances this announcement is simply a ‘Feel Good’ position by supermarkets that realistically achieves nothing at all.

In fact this announcement by supermarkets to ban Plastic Bags will make life more difficult for its customers.